Three APC governors drag Emefiele to Supreme Court, seek extension of deadline on old Naira notes

The governors contend that the Federal Government, through the CBN, has no powers to issue a timeline for the acceptance and redeeming of banknotes issued by the Bank, except as limited by Section 22(1) of the CBN Act 2007

By Ishaya Ibrahim

Three governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), namely Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Bello Mutawalle of Zamfara, have dragged the Central Bank of Nigeria to the Supreme Court over the deadline for the expiration of the old Naira notes.

Recall that some of the APC governors, including El-Rufai, Bello and Mutawalle had advised President Muhammadu Buhari last week to allow the usage of the new and old naira notes beyond the February 10 deadline. But the President refused, assuring Nigerians that the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would resolve the naira scarcity before the deadline.

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But the three of the governors through their states’ Attorneys Generals, in an originating summons filed on February 3 by a team of lawyers led by Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), raised four questions for the court’s determination.

They also, in the suit marked: SC/CV/162/2023 want the apex court to make the following declarations:

*That the demonetisation policy being currently carried out by the CBN under the directive of the President is not in compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution, Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and extant laws on the subject.

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*that the three-month notice given by the Federal Government through the CBN, under the directive of the President, the expiration of which will render the old banknotes inadmissible as legal tender, is in gross violation of the provisions of Section 20(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 which specifies that reasonable notice must be given before such a policy.

*that in view of the express provisions of Section 20(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, the Federal Government, through the CBN, has no powers to issue a timeline for the acceptance and redeeming of banknotes issued by the Bank, except as limited by Section 22(1) of the CBN Act 2007, and the Central Bank shall at all times redeem its bank notes.

The three states filed along with the originating summons, a motion for an injunction, in which they are praying restraining the Fed Govt and it’s agents, including the CBN, and commercial banks, among others, “from suspending or determining or ending on the 10th of February 2023 the timeframe within which the now older versions of the 200, 500 and 1000 denominations of the naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”

They stated that the grounds on which they are seeking the injunction include that, “since the announcement of the new naira note policy, there has been an acute shortage in the supply of the new naira notes in Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States. Citizens who have dutifully deposited their old naira notes have increasingly found it difficult and sometimes next to impossible to access new naira notes in order to go about their daily activities.

“This inadequacy of the notice coupled with the haphazard, cack-handed manner the exercise is being carried out and the attendant hardship same is wrecking on Nigerians (and this includes citizens of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States of Nigeria) has been well acknowledged even by the Federal Government of Nigeria itself.

“The Naira (whether old or new) is scarce.”

The plaintiffs also filed a motion for abridgement of time to five days from the date of service within which the defendant, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) could file a response to the suit.

The states added, in a supporting affidavit, that “contrary to the requirement for the naira redesign policy to be implemented within a reasonable time frame, the Federal Government of Nigeria has embarked on the policy within an unreasonable and unworkable time frame and this has adversely affected Nigerian citizens within Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states as well as their governments, especially as the newly redesigned naira notes are simply not available for use by the people as well as the state governments.

“Government activities and services requiring the use of cash have been adversely affected on account of the massive cash shortage thus making it difficult for the government to effectively operate.

“That people in the Plaintiff states (Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara) have been deprived of their right to access their hard-earned money from their bank accounts having deposited their old naira notes with the banks.